Macungie police, store personnel thwart $1,200 scam

A Macungie resident was
almost scammed out of $1,200 before police and store personnel intervened,
according to the Macungie Police Department.

The resident told
police he received a series of telephone calls from a male claiming to be a representative
from Proctor Gamble Company, and was told he won $700,000 in a sweepstake drawing,
police said.

The resident was
instructed to go to a CVS
or Walmart store and get Green Dot pre-paid credit cards for $1,200, and to
call a provided phone number afterward, police said.

The resident was
told a prize delivery team was at Lehigh Valley International Airport waiting to be dispatched to his home for
delivery of the money in check form, police said.

The resident went to an undisclosed store to purchase the cards, but the store declined to sell them after informing the resident of scams involving large sums of money credited to the type of card, police
said.

The resident
returned home, called the number provided and was coached about what to tell
the retail store, police said. The resident then returned to the store to make a second attempt at purchasing the card.

Police this time intervened and advised the
resident of the common red flags associated with this type of scam,
but the resident was convinced the calls were legitimate and allowed the police
to be present when he called the contact back, police said.

The male answered again
and said the prize delivery team was currently on Buckeye Road to the resident's home to deliver the money,
police said, and the resident was told before the armored truck would stop,
they needed the card number and PIN associated with the Green Dot transaction.

Police said the
resident told the male on the phone he would give the numbers over when the
truck arrived, and was told the truck would be there momentarily, but the truck
never showed.